CEE Program Highlights CEE Grantee Spotlight 2006 Central and Eastern Europe Program Descriptions: Albania Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Kosovo Macedonia Moldova Montenegro Romania Serbia Central & Eastern Europe Regional Jump to Regional Programs

The year 2006 witnessed significant strides towards consolidating democratic transitions in the region with the expected accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union in 2007 and the signing of a Stabilization and Association Agreement by Albania and Macedonia. The Western Balkans also showed signs of stabilization following Montenegro's peaceful separation from Serbia and the decision to invite Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia to join the Partnership for Peace program, a step towards NATO membership. However, unresolved border issues, the rise of political extremism, weak and opaque institutions, civic apathy, and corruption continued to cast a shadow over democratization. The prospect of independence for Kosovo and Serbia's failure to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which forced the EU to break off accession negotiations, boosted the popularity of radical forces in Serbia prior to key parliamentary elections scheduled for January 2007. On the issue of Kosovo's independence, a compromise with Serbia proved impossible and the delay of a decision on final status continued to fuel political and ethnic tension and hinder democratic reforms in both entities. Constitutional reform was a key issue in Bosnia's October 2006 elections, further dividing the electorate over the future status of Republika Srpska.

In 2006, the Endowment focused its support on strengthening independent media, especially at the local and regional levels, which is increasingly under attack in the Balkans; fostering interethnic understanding and historical reconciliation in the former-Yugoslav countries; and promoting youth participation in civic and political life. NED concentrated its resources on the former Yugoslavia, with a strong emphasis on Serbia, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. NED assistance raised the professional standards of local media throughout the region by training journalists in investigative reporting and strengthening independent sources of information.

The Belgrade-based Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) provided comprehensive training to local journalists operating in areas with significant minority populations in Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia, enabling them to produce feature articles and objective analysis on political, economic, and social issues relevant to minority communities. Similarly, in the multiethnic region of northern Serbia, the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina used Endowment funding to train minority journalists to create and use an online archive of articles published in minority languages. Recognizing that media can serve as a powerful tool for promoting ethnic and historic reconciliation, the NED supported projects such as Fund B92's documentary film festival Free Zone, and the human rights festival VIVISECTfest, organized by Vojvodjanka – Regional Women's Initiative. Such events provided a framework for debates on sensitive human rights topics and drew the attention of young audiences in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the dangers of extreme nationalism and xenophobia.

NED support for independent media also increased public discourse among citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina on critical issues facing the country. In Republika Srpska, where a restrictive political environment inhibits objective media coverage, the Center for Informative Decontamination produced a series of live television debates on politically sensitive issues affecting Bosnian citizens, particularly young people. Similarly, BIRN in Kosovo collaborated with the leading public TV broadcaster on producing cutting-edge TV debates on crucial political, economic, and social topics in Kosovo and the region. Other programs in these entities focused on promoting civic activism as well as the transparency and accountability of government institutions. The Kosova Democratic Institute used NED assistance to monitor the Central Assembly and inform the public of its performance through scorecards, analytical reports, and press conferences.

In newly-independent Montenegro, where reforms continue to be hindered by weak state institutions and inadequate rule of law, the Center for Democracy and Human Rights analyzed the quality of the country's democratic transition through a series of surveys examining public perceptions of institutional capacity, adherence to human rights standards, and governmental stability. To increase the quantity and quality of analysis on economic and foreign policy issues in Macedonia, IRI established the Ohrid Institute for Economic Strategies and International Affairs, a think tank that conducts research, publishes policy papers, organizes roundtable discussions and lectures, and advocates for more effective and efficient government. The Endowment continued to strengthen the transparency and accountability of government institutions in Albania by assisting the Center for Parliamentary Studies, which published a monthly journal documenting and analyzing draft legislation and other parliamentary initiatives.

Despite the government's pro-Western pronouncements, democratic reforms in Moldova were slow to materialize in 2006. During the December election in Gagauzia, a test of the government's commitment to the democratic process, NED supported a civic initiative to promote a free and fair electoral process in the autonomous region through observation missions and a nonpartisan voter education and mobilization campaign. In a continuing effort to strengthen civil society in the breakaway region of Transnistria, the Endowment assisted the Center of Information, Education, and Social Analyses' monthly bilingual journal, which provided independent analysis of civil society developments in the region.

In Romania and Bulgaria, where the Endowment is scaling down its work, support was targeted at promoting human and minority rights and political participation. In Romania, the Association for the Protection of Human Rights monitored the drafting of new laws for adherence to human rights standards and advocated for the implementation of existing legislation. In Bulgaria, NDI strengthened the political representation of women by supporting issue-based advocacy initiatives and good governance training for elected women officials, as well as conducting a gender assessment of political parties.

In 2006, the Endowment increased support for regional programs, which share useful experiences, skills, and program models across borders. The Romanian Academic Society examined best practices and lessons learned from anticorruption projects in the Balkans, established an NGO network for anticorruption programs, and led a regional initiative to build effective civic coalitions to increase the transparency of the electoral process and accountability of elected officials throughout the region. Following the success of its Roma leadership training academy in Bulgaria and Slovakia, which provides emerging leaders with the skills needed to compete for elected office and better address their communities' long-term needs, NDI expanded the program to include Roma activists from Romania.